User Comments

1. 

   11/05/07

   PetLvr

   Wow. Talk about starting another pointless Flame War over nothing in here.
   
   Are you not a guy? pretending to be a girl?
   
   (and if that's not pissing him off)
   
   What's wrong with being "#1" ?? Are you sure this is spam? Everybody is going around giving these USELESS and MEANINGLESS review ratings .. maybe he/or she thought that "1" is the best and "10" is worse.

   [reply]
2. 

   11/05/07

   ngtechgr

   You are absolutely right , I am very puzzled with my "avatar" situation , it started as another .. rather unfortunate now joke - inspiration of the moment, and I seem now "locked in" with her :-( ...
   
   Besides from that , I do not pretend being a girl (not that I would be unhappy to be one like her , life would have been a lot more easier then :-))
   
   Many friends - fellow BC members can attest on that, I have been clear with it from the beginning:
   
   www.ngtech.gr/blog/en/net_www/blogging/welcome-new-blogcatalog-friends-2007...
   
   You really have a very valid - very good point on this , I didn't thought of that since I considered it obvious that I wasn't the avatar photo!

   [reply]
3. 

   11/05/07

   ngtechgr

   As for being spam or not:
   Any rating even an 1 like his first one is acceptable , and in most cases more welcomed - constructive than a 10 since if it is justified / fare , I see it as another reason to try my best being a better blogger/writer/person (Life has taught me ...the hard way... to not have obsessions with 10's).
   Ignoring the exploits / attacks from his IP for the sake of the discussion and focusing on his reviews I consider them spam because:
   

   
   
   1. He has been posting them non stop with a new one every 20? hours starting with "One of the (most??) uninteresting blogs ever found on the blogosphere."
   
   
   2. He had not rated any one else before , despite being a more seasoned / older BC community member
   
   
   3. He Started giving tenths to other sites to increase his "review credibility" after seeing his reviews moderated
   
   
   4. He obviously knows the rating scale , if you look carefully on the sequence of his "marks" he moved to a 2 and said "Your blog is getting better" - Thanks :-) in order to "game/evade" the system...
   
   
   
   Oh God I hate flame wars , ignoring all other bad aspects they also ... contribute to global warming :-) !

   [reply]
4. 

   11/05/07

   toadee

   I am not (nor will i ever be) a techy but I'm sure you are up to dealing with his childish behaviour.
   It is intensly annoying though as it devalues the rating for all of us

   [reply]
5. 

   11/06/07

   nplbjirel

   I think this is some negative action. I am not sure this is to disturb you or decrease the rating of your blog.
   Why should he write saying only great blog/ nice blog many times. If he have gone through your blog he should have written what did he like of your blog.
   Actually, if he felt your blog great or nice then he definitely should rate your blog at least 5 out of 10.
   No one will rate nice or great blog only 1.
   Are you still getting this same action?

   [reply]
6. 

   11/06/07

   neriodavid

   I think I would not bother to deal with this. But I think he should stop his meaningless behavior.

   [reply]
7. 

   11/06/07

   ngtechgr

   Thanks for your highly valued feedback,
   I have been worrying that I might have overreacted publishing this topic and not ignoring him and really wanted to see if other community members shared a similar point of view.
   But I became quite annoyed when I saw my server security logs ... he was trying to cause real damage in multiple ways!
   
   I do not know what laws apply in Israel , but this kind of illegal behavior , here (including all EU) crosses the line and consists a legally punishable offense "Computer Crime:Unauthorized access with malicious Intention"
   
   If he was smart and knew how to do his "dirty jobs" he wouldn't have been using his home cable connection to perform the attacks!
   
   I already know his IP / ISP / Country / City even Neighborhood !! and if he keeps going on like that he will learn the hard/legal way that Internet isn't as anonymous as he might have thought of and every action we take online is easily traceable....
   
   Of course no one is perfect , A few years ago when I was seeing life from another point of view and belonged to "the other side/ dark www corners" I might have reacted to this attack using "fire to fight fire" , exhibiting more immature behaviors that him.
   
   A lot of things can start going bad "out of the blue" to unguarded PCs / blogs / Websites ;-)...
   
   I am not proud of some cases I have been involved on , back then laws didn't exist and I was an "angry teenager" with "dangerous weapons (scripts/ half - knowledge to use them)" in my arsenal.
   
   I even got suspended from school once due to some "hacking" in our .edu network!

   [reply]
8. 

   11/06/07

   MiLan

   No body ever like to kick the dead dog

   [reply]
9. 

   11/06/07

   ngtechgr

   ??? I am not that good when it comes to English proverbs :-)

   [reply]
10. 

    11/06/07

    MiLan

    Do you kick the dead dog?
    
    It means if you have been spamed or criticized that means you are something.
    Why Microsoft's products are being cracked within 24 hours from its time of launched?? Because it is MICROSOFT.

    [reply]
11. 

    11/06/07

    DD2

    My way is the easy way.
    Why not jusr ban the IP number?

    [reply]
12. 

    11/06/07

    ngtechgr

    Thanks Yes onlineMONEY , your point is valid :-) and the proverb ... very interesting! The funny part is that we use a similar phrase in Greek but with the opposite meaning :-)!
    
    As for banning (in www.ngtech.gr),ofcourse his IPs are automatically banned after each attach for a set period of time but since I am not a huge fan of 403 he gets (and all "blacklisted" fellows) random redirects to other .... more suitable sites :-) !
    Unfortunately IPs for most residential customers are dynamic / change every hour(s) / day(s)...

    [reply]
13. 

    11/06/07

    ngtechgr

    The BC API gives interesting possibilities though!
    Its a pity I am very busy right now ...

    [reply]
14. 

    11/06/07

    ngtechgr

    For example do you notice something funny about this ;-) ?
    

    [reply]
15. 

    11/06/07

    ngtechgr

    

    [reply]
16. 

    11/06/07

    ngtechgr

    The second review would otherwise be considered valid (and it was treated as one) but a close look through the API shows the "most possible truth":
    
    .-.-.-.-.
    with a more familiar to the average user , widget format view
    
    .-.-.-.-.
    Nice Job Alex,Ben etc ... who knows what your real name is ;-) fortunately I am not the #1 blogger in BC anymore , so go bother the current #1 instead!

    [reply]
17. 

    11/06/07

    ngtechgr

    I bet $100 that if I bother cross correlating the API info with my server logs I will find two sessions from the same IP! but I currently have more serious things to do than playing "WarGames"!
    
    Feel free to play/misuse/abuse BC anyway you want , but keep your hands in your pockets and away of my site source ....
    
    I plan to check my logs sometime , since I am curious to find out if he used a script to post 0 ratings to all the posts in my site! or clicked his way through all 200 posts in my site!!
    
    In the latter way - Wow Thanks Alexa will love it! ;-)
    
    .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-..-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-..-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
    Why we don't just forget it ... There isn't anything to gain continuing this pointless game ....
    .-.-.-.-.-..-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-..-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-..-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

    [reply]
18. 

    11/06/07

    hariom

    Yes it is really nice blog.

    [reply]
19. 

    11/06/07

    clioandme

    Umm, whatever is going on here, need it be so public? Isn't this something for the BC admin?
    
    [edit]I see someone forgot to close an italics tag.[/edit]

    [reply]
20. 

    11/07/07

    ngtechgr

    I have been expecting a proper reaction from the BC admin team since my second report on 1/11 but they either (most probably) did not read included report details or ( i do not believe that) do not care about BC quality community standards.
    
    In most online community forums I have been an admin the policy was simple ...
    
    Violation One:Stern Warning ->
    Two:Loss of all priviledges ->
    Three:Account Termination / Removal ->
    
    And any repeated offenders were put in IP blacklist for set period of days...
    
    Otherwise what could be the moral of this story if it keeps going on unpunished for long:
    
    Fellow BC members feel free to daily misuse the site features / ignore every netiquette / moral code of conduct attacking other community members at will and nobody will harm you!

    [reply]
    1. 

       11/08/07

       kaplanal

       Dear Nico,
       
       You threats don't act on me.I know my rights.Actually you are behaving like CIA agent.If someone gives you a rank that you doesn't like it you call it "spam".When he continuie to rank you the same way you call it "abuse".It is really undemocraic,and the courts should decide on this issue.
21. 

    11/07/07

    ngtechgr

    Otherwise it is brain dead simple to write a script to give Alex/Ben the first ten verses of Iliad in binary ;-) as ratings for his blog(s) ...
    
    Also I could ask anyone I know in & out BC to rate my blog with 10ths or even worst self rate myself with some hundreds of 10s.
    
    The possibilities are endless if they aren't any hard limits to this kind of activity ! ...

    [reply]
    1. 

       11/08/07

       voodooKobra

       I do believe the term for this act would be counter-trolling; check your blog comments
22. 

    11/07/07

    ngtechgr

    ...
    www.blogcatalog.com/group/blogcatalog/discuss/entry/feature-suggestion-addi...
    
    Obviously is anyone for himself / on it's own over here ... ;-) :-)
    
    So feel free to laugh with / contribute to the discussion about BC community in my ... site review area at:
    
    www.blogcatalog.com/blogs/ngtech.html
    
    I do not care about my site reviews/rating etc here since I really know how good is my real content at www.ngtech.gr .
    
    I am just used to the way open source communities handle / face these things behaviors and expected to see something similar over here as well...
    
    Best wishes & take care to all,
    Nick Georgakis

    [reply]
23. 

    11/08/07

    kaplanal

    Really,it is all started when my first comment has been erased.And she continues to use some tricks to erase my comments and rate.So who is a spammer here?Take a look in her blog and you will see that she is a real spammer.

    [reply]
24. 

    11/08/07

    kaplanal

    Dear Nico!
    
    every day I will rate your blog with a grade 1,and this not spam,this my right to do it..
    
    And really you deserve this grade

    [reply]
    1. 

       11/08/07

       MadameX

       If this is true, it's obviously something that needs to be fixed. Daniel? Should the same person be able to rate the same blog every day? Is there not some way to have the rating system "remember" the user and only accept one rating? Seems like the ability to rate and re-rate and re-rate could ONLY be used to game the system, whether to inflate or wreck ratings.
25. 

    11/08/07

    kaplanal

    About my own grading,check it on her profile she is doing it by herself.....

    [reply]
    1. 

       11/08/07

       kaplanal

       The system is remembers the user.But it forgets the user when he quits and comes back.In a case of the Nico,is not only just that,she also fixes her rank continiously.
26. 

    11/08/07

    voodooKobra

    Dear kaplanal:
    
    You are being a gigantic idiot. Nobody cares about your opinion; stop trying to force down her rating. Also, stop being such a script kiddie. Leave the hacking to the real hackers you dimp-dick.
    
    Signed,
    Kobra

    [reply]
    1. 

       11/08/07

       kaplanal

       Your comment has been reported to BlogCatalog team.
    2. 

       11/08/07

       voodooKobra

       I don't care. Calling you a "limp-dick" is a minor offense compared to the computer crimes (unfortunately, yes, that's the official term) you're committing.
       
       At the most, they suspend my account and at the least they scold me and delete my post.
       
       Either way, you're still a limp-dick script kiddie.
27. 

    11/08/07

    kaplanal

    If you really wish that you account will be suspended,you will sucseed.This comment has reported too.Go on this way.

    [reply]
    1. 

       11/08/07

       voodooKobra

       That won't happen (unless the admins are having a rough day and need to vent). And three things to keep in mind:
       
       1. Your offense is more dire and your account is still unsuspended, so you'll be hit first (if I'm even suspended at all).
       2. Calling an abusive user a "limp-dick," while tasteless, doesn't constitute as a major, banable offense. I'm a member of many communities and every one looks at the whole picture before making a decision like that.
       3. Your offenses are repeated and ongoing; mine was minor profanity that I repeated once.
       
       Something tells me the admins aren't ban-happy, and that something is the fact that there IS a community here.
28. 

    11/08/07

    kaplanal

    Let them to decide who is offensive,and who is a spammer and hacker.I really don't expected to meet people like you and ngtechgr on blogcatalog

    [reply]
    1. 

       11/08/07

       voodooKobra

       "really don't expected," eh? I'm not quite sure what that's supposed to mean.
    2. 

       11/08/07

       voodooKobra

       On another note, being a hacker isn't illegal so they probably couldn't care less. However, attacking another person's website IS illegal.
       
       ngtechgr: If you don't have the time to contact his ISP, just give me his IP, the Unix timestamps, and his exact offenses and I can do it for you.
29. 

    11/08/07

    libdrone

    @netchgr-- either admins dont't care OR...
    
    they are at the big blogging convention right now and prob not paying much attention. they do care about maintaining community and enforcing their policies and will no doubt review this matter when they return from the convention

    [reply]
    1. 

       11/08/07

       voodooKobra

       Ah, that's right-- there's a convention going on right now. I completely forgot about that.
30. 

    11/08/07

    mikeny07

    I don't think the ratings on here mean much guys. If you have a good website it will be number one on the internet no matter if someone gives you 1 million 1 star ratings on here.
    
    You also can win blog awards I noticed that you can put on your blog. The only reason to join sites like this is when you are starting out.
    
    All the traffic comes from search engines like I said on here many times. As time goes on everyone probably will use sites like this less once their blog gets noticed.
    
    Probably everyone should be able to vote for a site maybe just one time. But then someone can just start another account and vote their own sites with 10 stars or someone can vote a million times with 1 star.
    
    Maybe the voting needs some work and the comments also.
    
    I do the same thing with telemarketers when they called me a lot. I took the phone out of the wall. I shut the ringer off. I used a recording of a song for my message that was 3 minutes long. Anything to shut them up. It all worked!
    
    I do the same online. I just shut everything down!

    [reply]
    1. 

       11/08/07

       voodooKobra

       He also did script-kiddie antics on her blog, which is a major computer offense.
       
       Or as it was referred to in the OP, "hacking." Only without the skills or prior knowledge needed to be a hacker.
31. 

    11/08/07

    kaplanal

    So she should go to the court if it is "major computer offense".This forum is apropriate discussion place?

    [reply]
    1. 

       11/08/07

       voodooKobra

       It's her right to expose you for the mindless oaf you are.
       
       Also, she already said she doesn't have the time to do so. And if she knows as much about technology that her blog title implies, you're DAMN lucky that she hasn't gone "batshit insane" on you :P.
32. 

    11/08/07

    kaplanal

    She has not right to blackmail me via the media.It is a crime and it is prosecuted by the law.Now,if she have no time my layers have a plenty of time to suie her in the court.

    [reply]
33. 

    11/08/07

    libdrone

    @kobra
    
    I think until tony and the team get back from vegas we are only encouraging limp dick by continuing to keep this thread hot
    
    I am SO not a techie and don't pretend to understand what this is about-- beyond the gaming of the ratings here on BC and I am confident that if there is an issue with the system Tony and Daniel will address it as well as the other issue of banning any BC users who have violated the sites Terms Of Service (scroll all the way down and look for the link in the footer if you want to know what they are)
    
    (and the next time he goes jetting off to Vegas I'm holding my breath til he leaves me the keys to the site so shit like this doesn't get out of hand)

    [reply]
34. 

    11/08/07

    kaplanal

    You mean this...?
    
    "Member Disputes. You are solely responsible for your interactions with other BlogCatalog.com Members. BlogCatalog.com reserves the right, but has no obligation, to monitor disputes between you and other Members"

    [reply]
35. 

    11/08/07

    libdrone

    actually kaplanal I was referring to the bit about criminal activity a few paragraphs up but, yes the paragraph you quoted may be applicable here as well.

    [reply]
36. 

    11/08/07

    devnulled

    You're acting like adolescents with lack of judgment. Grow up and get over it.

    [reply]
37. 

    11/08/07

    mikeny07

    Everyone in the blog community should respect each other. As webmasters that we all are, we all have a set of guidelines which I posted a long time ago on here.
    
    Everyone should be following them. Having a blog is not like an IRC chatroom.
    
    Maybe we need a place online to settle disputes like this. The Internet is still like the Wild West.
    
    Why not the next President consider a place online where people can goto to solve these types of problems.

    [reply]
    1. 

       11/08/07

       libdrone

       actually mike there are places and means of settling disputes "like this".
       
       first, be aware that anyone using BC has agreed to abide by its Terms Of Service which forms a legally binding contract between the owners of BC and the sites users.
       
       second, note that the owners of BC generally prefer to stay out of petty pissing matches (unless the particular thread happens to catch their eye or touch a nerve) but do care deeply about creating and maintaining a friendly and useful Community on this site and will not hesitate to exercise their many rights under the TOS IF there is a good reason for them to do so.
       
       There appear to me to have been multiple violations of the TOS and I can not speak to how specifically the owners of BC will decide they apply with regard to this particular set of circumstances but I feel certain that when they become aware of it they will do anything that needs doing.
       
       In the meantime I am just trying to reassure the user who feels abused and subsequently ignored by the site admins and encouraging third parties to the dispute to let this cool off.
    2. 

       11/08/07

       voodooKobra

       In my case, she didn't really encourage me to do anything... I acted on my own whim.
38. 

    11/08/07

    kaplanal

    I leaving community anyway.Good Luck everybody

    [reply]
39. 

    11/08/07

    libdrone

    @kobra
    
    he's posted a Goodbye Cruel World so we may have seen his back. my instinct is to back you, though as I said I honestly don't understand the tech issues involved. And I agree netgr did not ask for your help, you saw an issue and stepped up to address it imho

    [reply]
    1. 

       11/08/07

       voodooKobra

       What do you mean "Goodbye Cruel World?" Did he suicide?
       
       I can see the motivational posters now (Alex - An Hero!)
    2. 

       11/08/07

       libdrone

       in the old days on Compu$erve when a histrionic participant penned a particularly flamboyant exit line we referred it as a "Goodbye Cruel World" note. a bit of lore from someone who's been online and active in communities much like this one since 1991.
40. 

    11/08/07

    ngtechgr

    Hello to all BC friends / fellow community members ...
    
    I am glad to see I am not the only one who cares about the nice & helpful community we have/are forming over here.
    
    I have to say ** I am really sorry ** about some things I wrote e.g. that no-one cares ;-) about the community quality ... etc.
    
    I shouldn't be so "short fused" but old (& bad habits) die hard ;-)
    
    Alex case found me in a VERY **STRESSFULL** day / period , while I am trying to put back together the pieces of my life , academic & professional career and getting of the stigma of "mentally ill , crazy" person who unfortunately prevails here in Greece (due to luck of education and fear for the unknown) for anyone who had been unlucky enough to have a "public" manic/depressive episode in his/her life ...
    
    The only things that keep me from going after him after a few weeks I will finally get some free time to unwind are:
    
    1)Having been "lucky enough" to live for almost a year through 3/4 of DSM-IV described conditions due to a ***Criminally / Questionable both morally & legally *** drug/procedure choices (fueled by greed & under the table "trade" agreements of some corrupted members of our public health system) I have more serious issues to examine / pursue legally than going after an unfortunate fellow , to whose behavioral / emotional problems I can *** REALLY RELATE TO ***
    
    2)On the other side it is damned easy to hunt/track him down , for the name of God, he has used his home cable collection / his ***official university email address*** / Network and left [[TONS of STUPID (Sorry for the expression the hacker part of me is getting upset ...) / DATED / ANTIQUE footprints - security audit log trails]].
    At least when I was administrating our 32 PC computing cluster network (all of them online / 24 hr 100 MBps directly connected to the outside work with dedicated public STATIC IPs without beeing centrally filtered / firewalled) and a couple of attached workstations used daily by "unskilled - simple users" , [I know Fellow IT Admins will smile imagining how difficult is to "enforce" usage rules / security policies to your technically illiterate superiors / bosses]) I was facing ***REAL HACKERS *** who gave me hours of sheer enjoyment (and made my non civil engineering skills look "GodSend" btw;-)) having to go through countless "tricks" of the trade to "tag" them.
    
    I am proud to say that most disputes back then where "peacefully" resolved through "mutual respect/recognition" and we had only once been sadly forced to gone all the way through the legal hoops (thanks to our very helpfull / highly skilled & stuffed NOC center and the cooperation of the electronics crime / security department of GUNNET) to actually pursue legally another unfortunate "script kiddie / wannabe hacker" computer student in an neighbooring country...
    
    It hurt me immeasurably to later learn he has expelled from his university and lost his career due to his "carelessness / immature behaviour" but he had caused "real /financially accountable damages" but after all each one of us is (after a point) responsible / accountable for his actions in this life /world (except when he can thing / react in a rational way due to chemical or physical / emotional factors).
    
    I would HATE myself to cause the same damage again SO ALEX do me & the rest of the community a huge favor and stay away from the PC for a few days , try to calm down - talk to a relative/teacher/priest ... - someone you care and trust - about the "deeper" issues that trouble you and making you (an respected academic community member - 31 year old male student of the physics department of the Ben-Gurion University - btw: Say hello to cmsprod.bgu.ac.il/computing/info-security , with an 10 times faster than mine ;-) cable connection through 012.net.il in the Holy city of YERUSHALAYIM (JERUSALEM) ;-) ) to forcefully display such unacceptable behavior.
    
    Enjoy meeting your friends / continue your studies and most importantly seek professional counseling / support if you feel those issues put a heavy burthen on your life.
    
    I sincerely hope that your "GoodBuy Cruel world" posts (Which I don't have the time / emotional strength right now to read are "jokes/fakes" and you are not seriously considering to harm yourself!)
    
    btw: To fellow community memebers, PLEASE DO NOT JOKE ABOUT SUICIDE , it is a very .... intricate and complicated subject , I talk from personal ... bad experiences.
    
    If you look you will see that you are still **A FRIEND** in my BC lists - do not take this whole story as the end of the world ;-)
    
    And please do not believe that everything malfunction that will eventually/randomly occur to your PC has been caused directly or indirectly by ... me or any fellow BC members ;-).
    
    WE HAVE A COMMUNITY / NOT ANY ARMY / WAR- ATTACK PARTY OVER HERE!!
    
    ps: Do us a favor and install a decent firewall on your PC! I highly recommend www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/ ...
    
    If you wonder / want to learn how I found out all that & even more about yourself , Google your info or even better visit
    
    www.moanmyip.com/ !!! WARNING to fellow BC member - NSFW link - NOT SUITABLE FOR YOUR WORK / HOME - USE Headset - turn down PC speaker volume before visiting... :-D
    
    Above all , take it easy and relax / cool down, don't worry that I will turn you in - your data/privacy stay safe with me but anything would be possible from BC admins / community memebrs after seeing/guessing how much you would have pissed them.
    
    PS of PS: Do NOT EVER consider doing the same to another Open Sourse / Developer - WebMaster / or even worst CS related - Hackerish community ... your online & even more your physical well being will be greatly endangered then!! - Just a friendly advice.
    
    Even myself try to stay humble / pay my respects to more qualified & able cs members and been accustomed to the fact that my site can go down in ... milliseconds if I make the mistake to piss the wrong persons!
    
    Not everybody else will be soo ... tolerant with you. All of us have ***REAL LIFEs / PROBLEMS to care about ***
    
    My best wishes / thanks & Repects to all of you!
    Nick Georgakis
    Male ;-) / Real ;-) Administrator / Owner / Webmaster of www.ngtech.gr!!
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    btw: he comes from a highly respected University with lots of security experts the global academic & online community highly respects and I have even cooperated / know "personally" a few of them
    
    
    am currently involved in
    
    the medical and reaching the point of near committing suicide twice (this isn't something I am proud of)
    
    
    
    
    Thanks for

    [reply]
41. 

    11/08/07

    ngtechgr

    Sorry for the ... last parts ... they slipped thought the edit phase If it is easy/possible do me a favor and re-format them!

    [reply]
42. 

    11/08/07

    Xight

    The first BC wargame has officially ended. Winner? Noone. Group hug anyone? Where's the flower people when you need them.

    [reply]
    1. 

       11/09/07

       gosmelltheflowers

       I agree, this calls for a group hug.
43. 

    11/08/07

    ngtechgr

    or even better remove them , please :-)!

    [reply]
    1. 

       11/09/07

       gosmelltheflowers

       Ouch!
44. 

    11/08/07

    ngtechgr

    And btw Alex Stop rating the posts in my site with 0s . In contrast to the BC where you are still free (but not for so long I hope / believe) to behave in any way you want at ngtech I have full control and the "solution" to the "damage" you create is only 1 click - 3 lines of SQL code away...
    ============================================================================
    UPDATE `DUMMY_psr_post` SET `votes` = `votes` - 1,`points`=`points`-1 WHERE `ID` IN (SELECT `post`
    FROM `DUMMY_psr_user` WHERE `points` =1)
    UPDATE `DUMMY_psr_user` SET `points`=5 WHERE `points`=1
    ============================================================================
    and this is absolutely correct since - no one else has rated any article in www.ngtech.gr with 1s!

    [reply]
45. 

    11/08/07

    gerryPlanetEarth

    This silly public discussion is the closest thing in recent memory comparable to Abbott and Costello's famous "Who's On First" routine....
    
    Nonetheless as a result of this recent controversy kaplanal has dissolved his groups and destroyed the information contributed by the members....
    
    We urge former kaplanal Education group members and others to join the newly formed "Global Education Group"
    www.blogcatalog.com/group/global-education-group
    
    We value the contributions of both of these warring bloggers and hope they find a peaceful way to resolve their differences...

    [reply]
    1. 

       11/08/07

       MadameX

       kaplanal Education Group? Are you serious? That HAS to be trademark infringement!
    2. 

       11/08/07

       gerryPlanetEarth

       Nonetheless the dissolved education group had well over 100 members although you probably would not have liked kaplanal's spelling...
       
       Not to mention his dissolved other groups he hosted...
    3. 

       11/08/07

       MadameX

       Hm. My philosophy would be that a guy who goes into a snit and closes up a flourishing group without so much as offering the opportunity to another member to take over, obviously placing the need for a dramatic departure over the interests of the 100+ people who had supported and were presumably benefitting from his group, is stunningly unqualified to head up an "education" group.
    4. 

       11/08/07

       gerryPlanetEarth

       It is hard to disagree with your philosophy in this matter....
       
       Fortunately the discussions of the newly formed Global Education Group www.blogcatalog.com/group/global-education-group will be self moderated by its future fine members who for the most part continuously practice proper internet ettiquette....
46. 

    11/08/07

    cooper

    I'm with the "I don't think the ratings on here mean much guys. If you have a good website it will be number one on the internet no matter if someone gives you 1 million 1 star ratings on here."
    
    They are kind of like family ratings. You real concern should be outside readers and your blog community.

    [reply]
    1. 

       11/08/07

       MartinPlatt

       I agree with that statement too.
       
       Although obviously hacking isn't something that can be ignored.
       
       Bit of a waste of good skills, both the two participants could offer so much telling people how hacking works, and how to avoid, tag or exploit various things so that this doesn't happen, because all the exploits are closed.
47. 

    11/09/07

    ngtechgr

    I am not away ;-) , just moved on , stepped away from the subject and don't worry , I am always available and willing to share the little & insignificant bit of knowledge / experiences in the CS domain.
    I am always open to future post suggestions / feedback in my blog - BC profile page.
    
    You are also right about the groups & ect subjects , groups should belong to the community and not to their **owner / creator ***! btw: I have been also member in some of his groups!
    
    It is almost 100% certain that BC admins will have a full backup of all the group data before alex's dramatic departure and *might* be able to restore them IF WE ASK THEM NICELY ;-) about it!

    [reply]
48. 

    11/09/07

    mikeny07

    And also our goal should be to get a book deal one day! I just seen on blogger.com if you log in, another book deal!
    
    I mean look at all the books on Amazon. They are not all 5 star ratings. I think it is possible to get one if you have enough content on your blog.
    
    I have no idea how to go about it, but maybe next year if I can get enough post, I will try to find out if I can get one some day also.
    
    I read you get like 10% of each book sale. So if you had a book for $10 price only, you make $1.00 on each sale.
    
    If you sold only 10,000 books ever, you made $10,000

    [reply]
49. 

    11/09/07

    libdrone

    If you are serious about publishing a book of your blog posts get the to lulu.com and DIY. you can make a lot more than a dollar a book if you do it right, but it is a Lot of work and it is Not easy

    [reply]
50. 

    11/09/07

    mikeny07

    Thanks! What is interesting is that the blogs I read about that were turned into books, I would never buy the book based on the subject matter. That is just me of course.
    
    But it means everyone has a chance. What you think is a terrible topic, the next guy may love it.

    [reply]